Traction-wheel.



No. 745,510. PATENTED DEC. 1, 1903.

1); W. MuLAUGHLIN. TRACTION WHEEL.

' APrLmAT Ion mum rm. 2'. 1903.

no MODEL WTORNE'YS.

UNITED STATES Patented December 1, 1903.

DENNIS W. MCLAUGHLIN,

or SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA.

TRACTlON-WHEEL.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Iatent No. 745,510, dated December1, 1903.

Application filed February 2, 1903. Serial No. 141,571.

(No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, DENNIS W. B/IOLAUGH LIN, a citizen of the UnitedStates, residing at 2711 Howard street, in the city of San Francisco,county of San Francisco, and State of Galifornia,have invented certainnew and useful Improvements in Traction-Wheels; and I do hereby declarethe following to be a full,

tion, such aswill enable others skilled in the art to which it mostnearly appertains to make, use, and practice the same.

This invention relates to improvements in traction-wheels, andparticularly to the rim its object to provide a construction of fewparts, combining extreme rigidity with lightness, and, further, toprovide means for readily adding breadth to the tread of the wheel.

This invention consists, broadly, of a wheel having its rim formed of acontinuous length of channel-iron bent with the flanges extendinginwardly and having its ends butt-welded or otherwise suitablyconnected. The spoke construction consists of sets of two flatstrapspokes radiating from a cast hub to the rim, the spokes convergingfrom opposite ends of the hub to a point intermediate the hub and therim and being tied thereat by a rivet, then diverging to opposite sidesof the center of the rim, whereby the spokes form a truss between thehub and rim without crossing each other.

Owing to the weight, power, and general abuse of traction-engines,rigidity and simplicity become primary demands in their construction.This is particularly true of the traction-wheels upon which the weightis carried and the whole engine force centered. Said wheels must meetall the jars and strains incident to rough roads without loss ofalinemont, as slight variations in the latter will result in throwingthe driving-gear out of pitch. Heretofore the greatest difficulty hasbeen in preserving the contour of the rim of the wheel, to which endvarious constructions have heretofore been employed, ranging from asolid cast rim to rims built up of many parts, all more or lessexpensive and unsatisfactory and none reliable. The side flanges on therim have also been riveted to the rim or the rim shrunk onto theflanges; but nei- Qrim being shown in full lines igrouc'hes on thetread. Fig. 2 is a side eleva- Qtiou of the hub of the wheel.

and spoke construction thereof, and has for 1 icircumferential rim'their method has been found to be efiective. Adjustable spokes ofwhatever nature re- }quire constant adjustment and tinkering to preservethe contour of the rim. The various parts in this construction bear apositive fixed relation to each other, alterable only by gbreakage, thefew parts reducing the liability got disadjustment to the minimum.clear, and exact description of the said inven- I In the drawings,Figure 1 is a vertical crosssection of a traction-wheel constructed inaccordance with this invention, a portion of the to show the In detailthe construction consists of the formed of the continuous lengths ofchannel-iron A A, having itheir inner flanges A A riveted together and 1their abutting ends suitably joined, the lateral joints beingofiset-that is, set on the opposite diameters of the wheel for a betterbalance and distribution of the strains.

The above construction forms a rim having a flat tread and inturnedflanges at the sides and at the center of the rim, giving great verticaland lateral stifiness. The grouches at, extending across both rims A A,also add lateral stilIness. The hub Bis provided with the flanges B, inwhich are formed the sockets 13 into which the ends of the spokes G arebolted or riveted. The spokes consist of aset of two flat straps ofsteel 0, having their hub-terminals fixed in the sockets B andconverging to the tie-rivet C, from which they diverge to opposite sidesof the center of the rim, terminating in the head 0 bolted to the innerside of the rim. By thus trussing the spokes a'direct support andbracing is given to the rim with a much less tensile strain on thespoke, insuring greater stifiuess in the wheel as a whole.

In agricultural work (plowing particularly) the softness and unevennessof the ground, often broken by large cracks, necessitates great breadthin the tread of the wheel to prevent the engine sinking too deeply. Inmany instances a breadth of five feet is necessary. To give a wide rangeof breadth, a series of exactly as the the flanges D rim of the wheelmay be bolted to unit until the desired width is reached. Particularstress is laid upon the fact that the flanges are integral with the rim.In narrow-tread wheels the rim maybe formed of a single Width ofchannel-iron. The construction illustrated and described applies toWheels approximating eight feet in diameter and weighing near a ton anda half or two tons.

It is obvious that the construction may be modified to saidcircumstances without altering the spirit of the invention.

Having thus described this invention, what I claim, and desire to secureby Letters Patent, is-

1. A traction-Wheel having a rim composed of two continuous lengths ofchannel-iron bent in the form of acomplete circle, and having their sideflanges riveted together to form a rim with a flat tread andinwardly-extending flanges; a hub having flanges at each end from whichspokes radiate; spokes extending between the said rim and hub in sets oftwo, converging from the flanges on the hub to a point intermediate therim and hub and tied thereat by a rivet, from which they diverge toopposite sides of the center of the rim to which they are fixed; and anextension-rim composed of a continuous length of channeliron bent toform a complete circle, having int-urned flanges bolted to the flangeson the side of the rim of the Wheel.

2. A traction-wheel having a rim composed of channel-iron bent to form acomplete circle; spokes converging from opposite ends of the hub to apoint intermediate the hub and rim, and tied thereat by a rivet fromwhich they diverge to opposite sides of the center of the rim; and anextension-rim composed of a continuous length of channel-iron bent toform a complete circle, having its side flange bolted to side flange ofthe rim of the wheel.

3. A traction-wheel having a rim composed of channel-iron bent to form acomplete circle; and spokes converging from opposite ends of the hub toa point intermediate the hub and rim, and tied thereat, from which pointtheydiverge to opposite sides of the center of the rim.

4. A traction-wheel having a rim composed of channel-iron bent to form acomplete circle, a hub, and spokes, the opposite ends of which divergelaterally from a point intermediate said rim and hub.

5. A traction wheel having a rim and spokes, consisting of flat strapsof steel converging from opposite ends of the hub to a pointiutermediatethe hub and rim, and tied thereat by a rivet from which they diverge toopposite sides of the center of the rim.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand this 12th day ofJanuary, 1903.

DENNIS W. MOLAUGHLIN.

Witnesses:

BALDW'IN VALE, V. BERKA.

